What Surprises You?

3rd Sunday of Easter, 4/14/24 Acts 3:11-20 What Surprises You? I was in kindergarten at the time, 5 or 6 years old. Diagonally from my house lived a married couple whose names were Frank and Fran. We were all members of the same church. They made a point of waving to me and saying hello on Sunday mornings at church. And often on Sunday afternoons, with the permission of my parents, I would walk across the street and knock on the door of their home, and I was always greeted warmly and invited me to come inside. Right away Fran would offer me a bowl of ice cream (what 5-year-old wouldn’t love that?) and Frank and Fran would engage me in age-appropriate (for me) conversation. You know…how did I like school? Was my kindergarten teacher nice to me? And then, on many Sunday afternoons, but not all the time, Frank would pull a coin out of his pocket and ask, “Want to see a magic trick?” I would nod “yes” excitedly. Frank’s hands were huge and rough. He worked on the assembly line of a local company that manufactured huge construction cranes. He would show me the coin in the palm of his hands, then cup his hands together, blow into them, and open them, and the coin had magically disappeared. He and I would search all over their living room for it. And just when I was becoming exasperated of searching any further, Frank would say to me, “Come here. I think I see it.” I would stand next to him, and he would reach out his hand and touch one of my ears and exclaim, “Here it is! I found it. It was in your ear the whole time!” And no matter how often he performed that trick, I would be amazed and surprised. Easter—better, the Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord—is a season of amazement. You might even say “surprises.” The past two Sundays, our scripture readings have reminded us just how surprised Jesus’ followers were at his resurrection from the dead. And we understand that. Some of them had witnessed him being crucified on the cross. They watched his dead body being removed from the cross and buried in a tomb with the stone entrance sealed on Friday. But on Sunday morning, his body wasn’t there. He had risen from the dead! And then he began appearing to them, first in small groups, and then in progressively larger groups. St. Paul informs us that, at one point, 500 people saw the risen Savior at one time. And they were amazed! They were surprised! No tricks. No slight-of-hand. Really, physically alive! But, truth be told, even this resurrection from the dead shouldn’t have surprised them. They should have been expecting it. It’s what he had told them he was going to do in words that were so plain a young child could understand what he was saying. “I will be handed over to my enemies, be crucified, and on the third day I will rise again.” What could be more plain than that? But they were surprised when it happened. And we don’t blame them for their surprise. That’s because we know we would have had the same reaction. Jesus, dead on Friday afternoon. Now alive on Sunday morning?! Incredible!! Surprise!! And the surprises didn’t stop. They continued occurring. And we have one such event before us this morning in Acts 3. A little bit of background would probably be helpful. Peter and John, two of the apostles of Jesus, were at the temple in Jerusalem. Luke, the writer of Acts, informs us that Peter and John had been in the temple courts. Think of large gathering areas. Jewish people often met there to listen to rabbis and discuss Jewish teachings and their way of life. While they were there, they met a man who had been crippled from birth. He was brought there to the temple every day to beg. Peter and John told him that they had no silver or gold to give him, but what they did have, they were happy to share. And that was the power of the risen Lord Jesus. With a word, Peter performed a miracle and enabled the man not only to walk, but also to leap for joy. And this was the reaction of the crowd that witnessed it, “While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.” They were astonished. Amazed. Surprised. And rightly so. These people were familiar with this man. They knew him as the man had never walked a step in his life. And they witnessed him walking and jumping around. But notice Peter’s response, “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you’” It was a gentle rebuke. As amazing as this event was, Peter was telling the people not to be surprised. “Don’t be surprised at this man who was now walking and jumping, and don’t be surprised at me or John, either.” You and I have the advantage of knowing this account, likely very well. But imagine being one of the people to whom Peter spoke these words. Peter’s gentle rebuke made no sense to them. They had every reason to be amazed at the man and at Peter! But Peter didn’t waste a moment. He cut right to the chase. Weeks earlier Peter had experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and from that day on, Peter had been focused on one thing and only one thing—sharing the news about the crucified and risen Jesus who brought sinful people the assurance of the peace of forgiveness. And so, Peter began this short devotion with the people, “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus… God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” Peter took their amazed faces and turned them gently to see Jesus. And, in a couple sentences, he shared the amazing truth about Jesus, a truth infinitely more amazing than giving this man the ability to walk. Peter wanted them to know two things about Jesus. Yes, Jesus rose from the dead. It’s likely these Jewish people had heard about the amazing reports of what we call Holy Week and Easter. Jesus had been arrested, tried, and crucified. But lately some people were claiming that Jesus was now alive. He had risen from the dead. And they didn’t know what to think about it or what to believe. But the fact that Peter had just performed this miracle led credence to what Peter was saying about Jesus. And it makes us wonder. How many of these Jewish people were still captive to the false assumptions about the Messiah, whom people like Peter were claiming Jesus to be? Remember the Jewish misconceptions about the Messiah. He would be an all-powerful king who would establish a glorious kingdom for the Jewish people on earth. How many of them were thinking at that moment, “If Jesus could make this man walk, imagine what he could do for me”? If that’s what they were thinking or even thinking about thinking, Peter dropped a bunker-buster bomb into their misguided minds. Listen to his stinging words, “You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life.” These words lose a little of their divine sting in our Gentile ears. Peter had addressed them as Israelites, which was absolutely true. They were the people God had formed for himself for the purpose of bringing the Messiah into the world. They were the people of the promise, and they prided themselves on that fact. But lo and behold, what did they do? They rejected the Messiah. They rejected the focus of their purpose on earth. That was bad enough. But it got worse. They crucified him. Imagine that! A Jewish person murdering the Messiah! Unimaginable! But it got worse yet. Even a Gentile like Pilate realized Jesus was innocent, but not you Jewish people. How horrific!! But then Peter shared these sweet words of comfort, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.” God raised him from the dead. He died but he lives again! And here’s what Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection mean, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.” Repent. Have you heard that before? Indeed, you have. “Repent” was the central message of John the Baptist in preparation for the coming of Jesus. “Repent” was the central message of Jesus when he began his preaching ministry. “Repent” was still the central message after Jesus had risen from the dead. Why? Because a risen Jesus without your response of repentance means nothing. It would mean nothing has changed for you. The only way the forgiveness he won for you comes to you is when you realize how desperately you need a Savior and trust him for the forgiveness he won for you on Calvary’s cross. Simply being amazed at a risen Savior makes no difference in your life unless you come to grips with why he died and rose again. It wasn’t simply to amaze you; it was to save you from life forever without God. So, what surprises you? I hope and pray you’re not surprised when the Lord tells you to repent. I hope you know your sins. An honest evaluation of your daily life is not how often you have lived up to God’s holy demands, but how often you have violated them. I know I have. How about you? And what’s amazing is that Jesus knows them, too, and was still determined to die for you. And then to rise again to assure you that you are his forgiven child of God by faith in him. I’m surprised at that. I’m sure you are, too. Always be amazed at your Savior! And let others know how amazed you are. Amen.